OpenAI closes a $40B round, the most raised by a private tech company, at a $300B post-money valuation; SoftBank led with $30B; source: ~$18B is for Stargate
OpenAI on Monday announced it had closed what amounts to the largest private tech funding round on record.
OpenAI's new GPT-4o-powered image generator is now available to all users; Sam Altman last week mentioned a limit of three images per day for free-tier users
OpenAI's new image generator, powered by its GPT-4o model, is now available to all users, CEO Sam Altman said in a post on X …
Sam Altman says OpenAI plans to “release a powerful new open-weight language model with reasoning in the coming months”, its first open-weight model since GPT-2
just look at the “T” in ChatGPT, which comes from the Transformer architecture openly shared by Google. Then came Garry Tan / @garrytan : Open weights 🚀 Alexander Doria / @dorialexander : Ok, this one...
Source: SoftBank will invest an initial $7.5B in OpenAI's $40B round, plus $22.5B by 2025's end; other backers include Microsoft, Coatue, Altimeter, and Thrive
Reportedly With a Few Strings Attached Markus Kasanmascheff / WinBuzzer : OpenAI Hits $300 Billion Valuation with SoftBank-Led Tender Deal Robert Lavine / Global Corporate Venturing : SoftBank leads O...
Microsoft expands Copilot+ PC features exclusive to Snapdragon, like Live Captions, Cocreator, Restyle Image, and Image Creator, to PCs with AMD or Intel chips
Staggered feature releases make me ask “what even is a Copilot+ PC?” — Microsoft has a big update for Copilot+ PCs powered by Intel or AMD processors.
Intel Vision conference: CEO Lip-Bu Tan says that Intel plans to spin off non-core assets, create new products including custom chips, hire engineers, and more
Intel Corp. Chief Executive Officer Lip-Bu Tan said the chipmaker will spin off assets that aren't central to its mission …
Google rolls out a new Gmail encryption model for enterprises in beta that doesn't require senders or recipients to use custom software or exchange certificates
The beta feature for enterprise accounts allows Gmail users to simply toggle encryption for external emails.
With the Switch 2, Nintendo must do what it has rarely done before: follow one hit console with another; Nintendo sold 150M+ Switch units since its 2017 launch
but should be Matthew Murphy / Comic Book : Nintendo Switch 2 Will Be Worth Whatever the Asking Price Is Stevie Bonifield / Laptop Mag : The Switch 2 has me worried that Nintendo is missing the point ...
Sources: in recent weeks, Meta executives including Mark Zuckerberg have pressed US trade officials to oppose an impending EU fine and cease-and-desist order
Facebook owner presses trade officials to push back against European law that could undermine its ad business
Ahead of the Switch 2, Nintendo is branching out to use its characters in cinema, theme parks, and merch in a Disney-like way to create more consistent revenue
Tech Across the Globe … Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital are in talks to co-lead the round. — Revalued
Sources: SoftBank is seeking a bridge loan of as much as $16.5B to help fund AI investments in the US, its largest-ever borrowing denominated solely in USD
The bridge loan under discussion has a tenor of about 12 months, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
Sources: US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick signals withholding promised CHIPS Act grants as he pushes companies to substantially expand their US projects
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has signaled he could withhold promised Chips Act grants as he pushes companies in line …
Google is bringing its immersive Rewarded Video ads to Roblox, letting users watch ads in exchange for in-game benefits like virtual currency or power-ups
Advertisers can buy Rewarded Video ads on Roblox via Google Ad Manager, the company announced Tuesday
President Trump signs an executive order for a Commerce Department office to facilitate $1B+ investments in the US and administer CHIPS and Science Act funds
Bloomberg :
OpenAI says ChatGPT has hit 20M paid subscribers, up from 15.5M at the end of 2024, suggesting the company is making at least $415M in monthly revenue
Before today's main column about the AI attention war between OpenAI and Google, there's OpenAI news from my colleague Natasha …
Samsung says TM Roh, who oversees mobile, will temporarily step into a broader role overseeing its consumer electronics, after the death of co-CEO Han Jong-Hee
Roh will fill the vacancy at the top of Samsung's Device Experience group until the company's board approves a formal successor to Han …
Current and former Google DeepMind scientists say a tougher vetting process and more bureaucracy at the Google AI arm have made it harder to publish AI research
Google's AI arm led by Demis Hassabis makes it harder for its researchers to publish studies in major change in approach
The USPTO suspends xAI's Grok trademark application, saying the name could be confused with companies Groq and Grokstream; startup Bizly claims it owns “Grok”
Elon Musk said he borrowed the name from a 1960s science fiction novel, but another AI startup applied to trademark it before xAI launched its chatbot.
Sources: TSMC's recent $100B US investment pledge was merely an estimated price tag for existing long-term plans and reflects an intention rather than a promise
Kathrin Hille / Financial Times :
Apple releases iOS 18.4 with Priority notifications for Apple Intelligence, which now has support for eight more languages, and Ambient Music via Control Center
Emojis, News+ Recipes, Visual Intelligence, More! Juli Clover / MacRumors : Apple Releases tvOS 18.4 John Voorhees / MacStories : Apple Updates Its OSes with Mail Parity Across Platforms, Recipes in N...
The US needs a new cybersecurity strategy, but offensive cyber operations are unlikely to deter Chinese state-sponsored hacking and come with significant risk
Ever since China's ‘Salt Typhoon’ hacking operations against US telecom networks was uncovered, there's been a lot of discussion about “hacking back”.
In a new strategy, Amazon plans to release 14 to 16 movies per year in theaters, rivaling other major studios, with most running for 45 days before streaming
The streaming giant is planning to release at least 14 movies a year in theaters around the country, rivaling other major studios.
TTP: Apple's and Google's app stores host popular “private browsing” apps operated by Shanghai-listed Qihoo 360, sanctioned by the US in 2020 for military ties
New findings reveal free ‘private browsing’ apps popular with US users have ties to blacklisted Qihoo 360
Tether acquired 8,888 bitcoin worth $735M in Q1 2025, taking its total holdings to $7.8B and making it the sixth-largest bitcoin holder in a single wallet
Yogita Khatri / The Block :
The Alan Turing Institute, the UK's flagship AI agency, plans to focus on defense, environment, and health, after staff criticized its leadership in December
Agency responds to criticism and rapidly evolving technology by cutting back initiatives — Britain's flagship artificial intelligence agency … Bluesky: @lukaszolejnik and @elinorcarmi . X: @mikepeel...
A look at Shanghai municipal government-backed SpaceSail, a satellite internet company that has launched ~90 satellites so far and plans to have 15,000 by 2030
Lam Le / Rest of World :
Some UK parents created Smartphone Free Childhood, a charity with a pact signed by 124K+, after the UK government watered down a bill banning phones in schools
In Britain, amid growing evidence of harm to young people from extreme content online, a “Smartphone Free Childhood” campaign is going viral.
Match Group unveils The Game Game, a free voice-based game in Tinder that invites users to flirt with chatbots powered by OpenAI's GPT-4o and GPT-4o mini models
It's About Getting Comfortable Before Meeting IRL Ben Sherry / Inc : I Struck Out With Tinder and OpenAI's New Dating Game Naomi Li Gan / Tech in Asia : Tinder introduces AI-driven in-app game to attr...
Lightmatter, which uses silicon photonics to move data between chips via light, unveils an interposer and a chiplet for AI chips; the startup has raised $850M
Data center evolution from electrical to optical networking has begun. — Stay tuned for the next giant leap in AI. Lightmatter : Tonight Nicholas Harris unveiled the future of photonics for AI at Li...
Uncertainty around high-skilled visas is unsettling Silicon Valley's immigrant tech community, as tech companies tell employees on visas not to leave the US
www.washingtonpost.com/technology/ 2... Mastodon: @TomWellborn@universeodon.com : Trump's war on immigrants now targets the backbone of U.S. innovation—foreign tech workers. Fear, uncertainty, and th...
A Blind survey of 1,450 verified IT professionals in India: 83% reported experiencing burnout, with 72% saying they routinely exceed the 48-hour workweek limit
John Xavier / The Hindu : Source: Blind Workplace Insights .
PayPal's Honey extension for Chrome has lost ~4M users from its peak of 20M after a viral December 2024 YouTube video accused Honey of employing shady tactics
Ben Schoon / 9to5Google :
Coinbase's stock fell 31% in Q1 2025, its worst quarterly performance since FTX collapsed in 2022; nearly every major crypto-linked stock plunged alongside it
Matthew Griffin / Bloomberg :
Sources: CaaStle, a clothing inventory monetization platform that raised $530M+, is almost broke and is accusing its founder and ex-CEO of financial misconduct
Back when everyone wanted to be a tech company, Caastle pitched itself … Julie Bort / TechCrunch : Fashion startup CaaStle appears to be in trouble Bluesky: Dan Primack / @danprimack : SCOOP: A fashio...
Industry executives say Rapido has a 20% ride-hailing market share in India's four-wheeler segment, Uber has ~50%, and Ola holds most of the remaining 30%
The Economic Times :
Amazon resumes drone deliveries in Texas and Arizona, after halting them in January to roll out a software update to fix issues with the drone's altitude sensor
Annie Palmer / CNBC :
LightSource, whose software helps companies manage their procurement processes, costs, and vendor relationships, raised $33M led by Bain Capital and Lightspeed
they just raised $33 million in series A funding. (CEO is ex-Tesla and ex-Waymo, CTO is ex-Google X and I couldn't resist a chance for a little shop talk.) www.cnbc.com/2025/03/31/l...
Earlier in 2025, Microsoft closed its IoT & AI Insider Lab in Shanghai, opened in May 2019, marking a pullback from China amid geopolitical tensions with the US
Wency Chen / South China Morning Post :
Sources: Sesame, which makes realistic AI voice assistants, is in talks to raise $200M+ co-led by Sequoia Capital and Spark Capital, valuing the startup at $1B+
a startup that's created hyper-realistic artificial intelligence voice assistants named Maya and Miles …
Builder.ai lowers its H2 2024 revenue estimates by ~25% after some sales channels “did not come through” and says it expects a full audit report by summer 2025
Here's some news on the financial troubles at one of London's most valuable AI startups. …
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